This is the print version of this page. All content is copyright Indezine.com 2000-2026.
Info-things on PowerPoint usage including tips, techniques and tutorials.
See Also:
PowerPoint and Presenting Notes
PowerPoint and Presenting Glossary
We have already explored two timelines that are different than the typical straight-line timelines you usually encounter in PowerPoint slides. And while straight timelines are great, and must be used if you have ten or more time values, there are opportunities when you can benefit from a differently styled timeline.
Our third, different timeline is from PoweredTemplate, a slide vendor based out of London, UK. My contact was Joanna Miller.
Look at this timeline template carefully. PoweredTemplate calls this a Timeline Concept.
You can use up to six time values. The slide you see above uses a year for each time value, but you could use any other value you want. Notice that the timeline has been represented by bars that seem stacked up a wall, or rather two walls to create a 3D illusion. This allows you to add two text descriptions for each time value.
The actual deck you download has many more timeline variations included. There are 8 slides using both light and dark background variations.
Template Link | Aspect Ratio: Standard (4:3) Only
If you have found a timeline template that’s different than others, do let us know by adding a comment. Also, if you are a vendor who wants their templates to be featured as part of this series, do get in touch with us via our feedback form.
See More Timelines that are Different: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07
Filed Under:
Showcase
Tagged as: Poweredtemplate, Review, Sample Slides, Templates, Timelines
A while ago, Microsoft discontinued their hugely popular Clip Art collection that allowed you to search and insert visual content right from within PowerPoint without having to pay anything extra. Even better, most of the time you never had to worry about licensing since Microsoft made those available to you as part of an option within their own program.
And now Microsoft has have teamed up with Pickit, a Swedish resource of pictures.
Don’t expect to choose the Pictures or the Online Pictures option from the Insert tab of the Ribbon, and then find an option to search and insert pictures from Pickit. The process works a little differently. Tom Kuhlmann of Articulate has a detailed post. Additionally, Articulate also posted a video to easily explain the process:
Filed Under:
Clip Media
Tagged as: Pickit, Pictures, PowerPoint
Timelines are graphics that show a sequential happening of events—these events may be in the past, the present, or the future. Typical timeline graphics emulate a ruler-style measurement bar with text captions. The problem with these timelines is that they all look the same! If you have seen one, you have seen them all.
We already looked at a timeline slide that looked a little unconventional in the first post in this series. And now we will explore another timeline slide, from another vendor. This one is not only different in concept and appearance than the first sample we saw—but it is also different than the hundreds of other timeline slides you may have encountered.
Our second timeline sample is from My Product Roadmap, a UK-based design agency. My contact was Jon Heathcote.
Explore this particular slide template for a timeline. My Product Roadmap calls this a Ten Step Timeline.
Each of the ten steps is identified as a milestone, and a grayed out version that shows just one step active is also part of the template, as shown in the figure below.
I suggest you use all the grayed out milestones in your slide, and then animate-in the colored milestones one after the other to use this template with even more impact.
Template Link | Aspect Ratio: Standard (4:3) Only
If you have found a timeline template that’s different than others, do let us know by adding a comment. Also, if you are a vendor who wants their templates to be featured as part of this series, do get in touch with us via our feedback form.
See More Timelines that are Different: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07
Filed Under:
Showcase
Tagged as: My Product Roadmap, Review, Sample Slides, Templates, Timelines
PowerPoint makes it easy to create info diagrams, and the SmartArt feature is awesome. Yet, there are times when PowerPoint’s offerings need to be supplemented by third-party content. Timelines are a great example, and this is the first in a series that will explore timeline slides.
While you can quickly create a timeline in PowerPoint using available shapes, it’s always more interesting if your timelines look different. Why? That’s because if you want your content to stand out in a crowd, it must be different. Audiences get bored of slides that look the same, and some people in the audience may even be unconsciously not receptive to the straight-line timeline that most PowerPoint users create!
We explored the collections of all slide template vendors, and found 7 timeline graphics that win brownie points for being different. Our first, different timeline comes from SlideTeam, among the largest resources of PowerPoint slide content, with offices in the United States and India. My contact was Akash Bathla
Look at this particular slide template for a timeline. SlideTeam calls it a GPS Road Map : )
Although you could ideally use it as a GPS Road Map, there’s nothing preventing you from using this template in any slide scenario that calls for a simple, 6 step timeline. You can also use it for timelines that require 4 or 5 steps by deleting extra timeline stops.
You will notice that each timeline stop is a map pin, and these pins are all native PowerPoint objects that can be customized as required. The template you download from SlideTeam has specific instructions for such customizations, as shown in the figure below.
While the slides you download are not animated, each map pin/timeline stop is an individual object, as are all the text boxes. You can, therefore, animate these in sequence as required. Also, all objects on the slide can be recolored, and instructions to do so are included as part of the template slides.
Template Link | Aspect Ratio: Standard (4:3) Only
If you have found a timeline template that’s different than others, do let us know by adding a comment. Also, if you are a vendor who wants their templates to be featured as part of this series, do get in touch with us via our feedback form.
See More Timelines that are Different: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07
Filed Under:
Showcase
Tagged as: Review, Sample Slides, Slideteam, Templates, Timelines
Here’s a question I was recently asked.
I created a training PowerPoint presentation that has links to other PowerPoint presentation. But when I am finished the other linked PowerPoints, they are still open. Is there a way to have them close when you link back to the original one?
The answer is quite simple, but not very obvious. Here are some guidelines that will help:
Do explore some of our linking tutorials:
Linking Between Slides in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows | Linking to Another Presentation in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows | Linking to Web Pages in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows
Filed Under:
Uncategorized
Tagged as: Hyperlinking, Links, PowerPoint, Tutorials
Microsoft and the Office logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.